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Fort Collins group seeks to quash bag fee

Erin Udell
9:56 p.m. MDT August 29, 2014

Citizens for Recycling Choices has filed a notice of protest with the city clerk’s office Tuesday, taking steps to get the city’s recently-passed bag fee ordinance repealed or put to a vote.
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A citizen committee opposed to the recent passage of Fort Collins' disposable bag fee is taking official steps to see the fee quashed.

Citizens for Recycling Choices filed a notice of protest with the city clerk's office Tuesday, saying the group would like to either see a referendum put on an upcoming municipal ballot, have a referendum made part of a special election, or have the Fort Collins City Council repeal the ordinance altogether.

Robert Unfug, while not the individual who filed the notice, has been leading the charge and says Citizens for Recycling Choices has about 45 members and "is growing quickly every day." The group communicates through a Facebook page, Fort Collins Bag Referendum.

Effective April 1, 2015, the fee will affect all retailers, instead of just grocers, and allow the city to take steps toward reducing use of disposable bags in Fort Collins — where an estimated 50 million disposable bags are distributed annually.

Following this recent filing, the city clerk's office will now provide the elector, Citizens for Recycling Choices, with petition forms. The group must then write a general statement of purpose, assign three to five petition representatives, copy and assemble the petition packets and submit them to the clerk's office by Sept. 5, according to the clerk's office.

If the petition is approved, the group will have 20 days to collect and submit 2,604 valid signatures of registered voters from within the city to the clerk before the signatures are approved and the petition is presented at a city council meeting.

From there, the council could either repeal the ordinance, refer it to a vote at the next regular city election or call for a special election on the matter.

With a Sept. 5 deadline to get something on the upcoming November ballot, the clerk's office says it will not be possible to get the referendum on the ballot for the upcoming election. Besides calling a special election, it could also be put on the April 2015 ballot, Deputy Chief City Clerk Rita Knoll said.